Assistant Fire Chief Charles Balke walks out of the back door of the three buildings that were gutted by fire on Sunday. Cortez fire and police departments are investigated the cause of the fire.

An early morning blaze in downtown Cortez on Sunday gutted three businesses and halted eastbound and westbound traffic on Main Street for hours.

Emergency fire crews were dispatched to Stewart’s Floor Covering at 20 East Main St. at 3:38 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9. Within four minutes, firefighters were on scene as flames jumped some 20 feet in the air. Assistant Fire Chief Charles Balke was with one of the first crews to respond.

“We saw heavy smoke pushing through the roof and through the front of the building,” he explained. “Secondary crews came around the back and saw active fire.”

Some 50 firefighters responded to the scene, including crews from Dolores, Lewis, Mancos and Pleasant View. No injuries were reported, but Stewart’s Flooring, Cortez Works, and Family Shoes and More were destroyed, said Balke.

“We were able to contain the fire to those three businesses,” said Cortez Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde on Monday. “There was some minor smoke damage to adjoining businesses, but they should be back open today.”

While fighting the fire, power was shut off to the entire zero to 100 block of Main Street as a precaution, impacting a half-dozen businesses. Officials allowed surrounding business owners in their place of business to remove computers and other pertinent items, Vandevoorde said. Power was fully returned by about 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

“Power was restored before we left the scene,” Vandevoorde said.

The cause of the fire remains under scrutiny by the department’s arson investigator and Cortez Police Department detectives.